ISDN Services

ISDN is a telecommunications service that is available at Texas A&M and parts of the Bryan/College Station Area. This service can be used to support voice, video, and data applications. Telecommunications staff can assist in evaluating your specific application to determine if ISDN is the best technology for you to use. Assistance is also available to help in the procurement process if you decide to use ISDN.

ISDN Capabilities and Applications

• Secretarial Answer Positions - With an ISDN telephone, other telephone lines can be monitored. With this unit, a secretary can determine if a person is on their phone before a call is transferred to that person's line by pressing a single button. In addition, visual information is provided on the screen of the ISDN instrument showing the number or name of the person calling. If the call has been forwarded, the screen also reveals the name or number from which it was forwarded.
• Desktop Video Network - ISDN can be used to access dial up services for desktop video conference systems. With this service, a video conference unit anywhere in the world can be dialed directly if it is connected to another switched network.
• Local Area Network Access - Buildings that do not have direct access to the campus fiber optic network can still gain access to the campus network using ISDN. This access is used from on-campus or from certain areas off-campus. Connections rates available range from 128 Kbps using Basic Rate Interface (BRI) to 1.544 Mbps using Primary Rate Interface (PRI). Either a single or a complete LAN can be connected using this service.
• Work at Home - With ISDN access and a Work at Home adapter a computer and a single line telephone can be connected to a single line telephone line. With this service a 9.6 Kbps connection or a 64 Kbps connection can be made to campus computers at the same time that telephone calls can be made or received. This unit allows you to continue to use all of your existing telephone and computer equipment at home.